Welcome to Edge of Britain. My name is Scott Ramsay, and I'm going to drive for a month around the coast of mainland Britain. I'll visit the popular tourist areas, but I'll also explore the remote spots that few people know about. I'm going to stay as close as possible to the coast, which means I'll be driving about 7 000kms. It's a long way, so I'll need some company - please join me by following my blog!

Monday, 27 July 2009

I hightailed it from Whitehaven to Wigtown (pronounced “Wigton”, and click on names to see on my Google Map), on the southern coast of Scotland on the Solway Firth, a huge sea inlet that cuts into the coast like a pick axe.

The reality of travelling around the coast of mainland Britain in 33 days is that I just can’t cover everything I want to. The bays, inlets, narrow roads, and numerous villages mean I can’t drive as far and as quickly as I’d like to. But no matter! What I see is more than good enough for me – when I am transixed by the scenery, or randomly encounter friendly locals, I am remined how special a trip like this is.

So I missed a couple of nice spots on my drive to Wigtown. Here are two that you shouldn't.

- Caerlaverock Castle, near Dumfries. Acknowledged as one of the finest in Britain, with a moat still in use.

- The town of Dumfries, home to Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland. He lived for most of his life in the town. Although he died when he was only 37, he was a symbol of Scotland’s cultural independence.

He is held in such esteem that Burns Night (25 January, his birthday) is more widely observed as the “Scottish” day, than the official National Day on 30 November. The Scottish get together for a long dinner, and eat traditional food like haggis, which is a mixture of sheep heart, liver, lungs, oatmeal and spices, all boiled in the stomach intestines.(Burns wrote an ode to the dish, called Address to a Haggis.

National Websites

Who am I?

Howzit! That's "hello" in South Africa, my native country. I work as a photographer and writer, and when I'm not in Cape Town, I travel to those wild and beautiful places that make Africa unique.
Web: www.purescotty.com
E-mail: scottnramsay@gmail.com